Overview
| Up-to-date | updated for the 4/16/2024 patch |
|---|---|
| Template Code | [&DQcBHQoZQjojDyMP3RqPAY8B3RppAWkB7RIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADLwAxAFoAAA==] |
| Conditions |
|
| Role |
|
| Synergy | average |
|---|---|
| DPS | high |
| Independence | average |
| Acquiring basics | average |
| Achieving mastery | difficult |
The Power Virtuoso is currently the strongest power build for Mesmer in fractals. It can bring a decent amount of CC while offering good burst damage and great sustained DPS, as well as being able to adapt to bring a ton of extra utility such as Stability or a reflect from the Mesmer toolkit.
The beginner version of the guide will focus on the most important utility options and try to teach the Greatsword version of the build which has a good amount of extra burst while also having notes for the Sword/Focus variant which can be useful for slightly more sustained damage and nice utility through .
The advanced page provides a more complete overview of all the utilities the Mesmer has to offer. Once you can execute the step-by-step rotation provided below without spending too much thought on it and are confident with the utility options provided here, head over and check out the advanced page for some extra information. Feel free to swap to the advanced page early if you feel like you are missing some information on additional (less common) utility skills or trait swaps.
Equipment
For fractals, due to Exposed it is worth adjusting the build to make use of . However, if you do not want to use multiple builds for different content, the sometimes suggested raid build using is also okay to run. If you don't own a build already, it is smarter to bring the impact sigil build to raids than the accuracy sigil build to fractals.
Check the gear optimizer for more gear variants!
Note: This setup does not use stat infusions. Stat infusion setups can be found in the advanced tab.
Build
Traits
Domination
Dueling
Virtuoso
Situational Traits
| Take this trait if you want to help strip boons. | |
| Take this trait if you're playing with Sword/Focus instead of Greatsword. |
Illusions
Extra Weapons
- You can run Sword/Focus instead of Greatsword. This variant is very useful to use in T4 fractals to pull groups of enemies together with to cleave them down more easily.
- If you want to run one variant on all fights, Greatsword is highly recommended.
Situational Skills
Swap out before any other skill.
| A nice source of party-wide Stability. | |
| For prestacking blades before the fight | |
| Mainly for Artsariiv to reflect Taw Shot. | |
| Can be used instead of if no CC is needed. |
CC Skills
| 50 damage (per Blade) | |
| 200 damage | |
| 150 damage | |
| 600 damage | |
| 150 damage | |
| Slow | 50 damage per second |
Rotation / Skill usage
Step by Step Beginner Rotation
Step 1: Opener
We'll start with the basic dagger/sword opener.
- Start on Dagger/Sword and use ,,, then swap to Greatsword.
Step 2: Signet of Ether
Next ,we will start with the basic loops. This is the backbone of the rotation and practicing this part for a bit will get you set up well for almost the rest of the rotation.
- Do Step 1.
- Use -> .
- Reset your cooldowns with and cast -> .
- Wait on Greatsword until you can cast one more , then swap to Dagger/Sword.
- Use right away.
- Wait for and then swap back to Greatsword.
- Repeat from Step 2.
Step 3: Weapon Skills
In Step 3, we will incorporate other Weapon Skills. We will add multiple skills at once so take your time if you feel like you struggle with this.
- Do Step 1.
- Do -> -> from Step 2.
- Use -> -> .
- Wait until off cooldown and cast it
- End your Greatsword loop with -> ->
- Weapon Swap
- Start you Dagger/Sword loop with -> -> .
- Wait until off cooldown and cast it
- End your Dagger/Sword loop with -> ->
Step 4: F1 Shatter
In Step 3, we will incorporate other Weapon Skills. We will add multiple skills at once so take your time if you feel like you struggle with this.
Next, we will incorporate our F1 Shatter .
- Use it only when you have 5 Blades stocked.
- Use it for the first time after your initial .
- Use it off-cooldown but only with 5 Blades afterward and after weapons skills.
- Example of use on Greatsword Loop -> -> ->
- Example of use on Dagger/Sword Loop -> -> -> .
Step 5: Utility Skills
Lastly, we will add the remaining Utility Skills to the rotation.
- Cast at the start of the fight and then use it off-cooldown.
- Cast off-cooldown as well. This skill is an instant cast and can therefore be used while casting other skills.
Mesmer Skips
Improving Further
Once you are comfortable with the above steps, you are already doing most of the full rotation and will be able to deal great damage.
There will be a few additional things on the advanced page to improve further but if you got here, you already know the most important things and these will have a smaller impact than what you learned so far.
The additional steps are:
- Use other Shatter skills (F2/F3) for extra damage and to keep up the buff from . Make sure to always have 5 Blades back for when your comes back.
- Precast additional skills before the encounter starts to get a bigger spike of damage at the start of the fight.